Britain is facing its fastest growing health crisis of modern times, a charity has warned

The number of people living with diabetes has doubled in the past two decades.

Analysis released by charity Diabetes UK has revealed that there are 3.7 million people living with the condition in Britain.

This represents an increase from 1.9 million since 1998 - and nine in 10 of those diagnosed suffer from Type 2 diabetes, which is preventable and often caused by people’s lifestyles.

Chris Askew, chief executive of Diabetes UK, said: “Diabetes is the fastest growing health crisis of our time; and the fact that diagnoses have doubled in just 20 years should give all of us serious pause for thought.

“Both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes are serious conditions that can lead to devastating complications such as amputation, blindness, kidney disease, stroke and heart disease if people don’t receive a timely diagnosis and begin receiving the right care.”

The research found an estimated 12.3 million people are at increased risk of Type 2 diabetes in the UK, and obesity is the leading cause in the majority of preventable cases.

The charity is calling for action to be taken to tackle childhood obesity, pressuring the government to introduce stricter restrictions both on junk food advertising to children, and supermarket price promotions for unhealthy foods.